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Motorclassica opens its doors in Melbourne

Australasia’s premier event for vintage, classic and exotic motoring enthusiasts continues to flourish as more people and a record-making auction are set to show this weekend.

Over 20,000 enthusiasts are expected to attend the event which is now unequivocally recognised as the best motor show in Australia.

This year sees new displays and even greater examples of some of the world’s rarest vehicles with something for every type of enthusiast. An exquisite 1923 Lancia Lambda Torpedo heads a world-class display of Lancias while pristine examples of muscle such as a 1973 de Tomaso Pantera, 1970 Pontiac GTO and 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO offer a fantastic exhibit of brawn.

The GTO is joined by a fleet of rare Prancing Horses such as two F40s, an F50 and a display of Ferrari’s $12 million LaFerrari Aperta as part of the Italian brand's 70th anniversary celebrations.

Motorclassica has one of the best displays in Australia of classic and exotic cars. Photo: Supplied

Motorclassic sponsor Mercedes-Benz Australia is displaying its latest models but also some classics such as an original C36 AMG, the first AMG model produced under the full ownership of the German brand.

Speaking with Motorclassica event director Paul Mathers, the event offers more than just overseas classics as the event is distinctly Australian, with Holden hosting a catalogue of its own Commodore vehicles, including the upcoming Insignia-based Commodore replacement.

“This year we have Holden here for the very first time celebrating pretty much the beginning and the end of Holden. To look at that, it is a fabulous display. When you look at that as a slice of Australian history, it’s really very interesting,” says Mathers.

Motorclassica is an annual event that runs in Melbourne every October. Photo: Supplied

Rounding out the Holden archive are private collections of vehicles including a Holden HK Premier, HK Monaro and many Toranas.

Mathers, who was instrumental in starting Motorclassica eight years ago, says the event is world-class but has developed its own Australian vibe.

“There wasn’t an event in the southern hemisphere like this eight years ago that represented the classic car movement in a national or international kind of event. America has Pebble Beach, Paris has Retromobile, Britain has a number of events but there was nothing in Australia that celebrated the lovely original and restored cars collections,” he said.

“I certainly took some inspiration from those overseas events and there’s people who would look at Motorclassica and see where some of that has come from. But what’s happened is the show has morphed into something that’s very Australian,” said Mathers.

“It has a very Australian feel about it - it’s not stuffy like the British types of events and there’s not the flagrant type of money that gets thrown around at the American type of events. It’s got its own Aussie feel about it.”

However, there will be plenty of money thrown about on Saturday night when a glistening 1955 Jaguar D-Type is expected to go under the hammer for between $7-8million, making it the highest value car to ever go to auction in Australia.

Joining the Jag at the Mossgreen auction will be other collectible vehicles such as a 1956 Cooper Climax T39 Bob-tail, 1958 Lister-Jaguar ‘Knobbly’ and 1965 Porsche 911.

Motorclassica has one of the best displays in Australia of classic and exotic cars. Photo: Supplied

Along with a display of cars, this year there is a luxurious Pommery champagne lounge and movie theatre showing motoring films such as McLaren, which only came out a few months ago at the cinemas.

The 2018 Motorclassica features more than 160 machines including vintage collections of bikes from Indian, Royal Enfield and Ural. Motorclassica is open from Friday October 13 to Sunday 12 at the Melbourne Royal Exhibition

Open times:

Fri 13 Oct: 9am - 6pm

Sat 14 Oct: 9am - 9pm

Sun 15 Oct: 9am - 5pm

Motorclassica has one of the best displays in Australia of classic and exotic cars. Photo: Supplied